Monday, December 2, 2013

St Francis Xavier

"Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, But he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land’s afflicted." Is 11: 3-4

It is easy to judge others. We see someone throw something from a moving car, hear a woman scream at a small child in a grocery store, or listen to a sermon that sounds unprepared and canned, and we judge all the people we see or hear as less than us and less than virtuous. Why do people disrespect the environment, one another and their congregations?  While this is a reasonable question, the answers may surprise us.

Isaiah assures us that God does not judge by appearance or hearsay, always acts with compassion, and has a soft spot for the poor and broken. More important, the prophet reminds his contemporaries to act like God, and Jesus reinforces this notion. It is easy, he reminds us, to see the speck in the eyes of others but miss the beam in our own. (Mt 7:3)

Advent is a time to remember that God chose to be born to people who may have been judged harshly by the people in their own village. Poor and unable to pay for a decent place to rest and wait for the birth of their first son, no one would have thought them worthy to be parents of the Messiah, but God had other plans.

Today, pray not to judge others about whom you know nothing.

What are the primary reasons you judge others?

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